KUCH DAKSHIN KE MAHARATI JINHE MAIN KABHI BHOOL NAHI SAKTA .... BY ALI PETER JOHN

I have like I always say been very fortunate to have close encounters with giant from different sections and different regions of the country , especially in the world of films . And if I have known more important people than in Mumbai , I have met them in the South - Ali Peter John

I first met the well-known filmmaker L V Prasad who told me that he had once come to Bombay to try his luck in films with his friend Kalachandra and Kalachandra had stayed on to be the chief assistant director of Raj Kapoor and then his son and lived as an assistant all his life , while he ( Prasad ) went back to Madras and gradually built his empire , Prasad Production .

He used to direct the biggest stars with a stick in his hand . He grew so big that on the day he died Madras city came to standstill.

I met SIvaji Ganesan several times , but the best time was when I met him in his huge house in Chennai when I was with Dev Anand who treated Sivaji like a younger brother and Sivaji called Dev " yenj man ". I met him at many of the functions of Lata Mangeshkar who called him " Anna "

I met N T Ramarao soon after he took over as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. And I had a glimpse of him when he attended the marriage of a new actor in Bombay called Subhash Ghai.

I met Dr A Nageshwar Roa , the father of Telugu cinema at his Annapurna Studio in Hyderabad under the most entertaining circumstances and wrote an article about him for which he wrote a letter of gratitude to me and my photographer for doing the interview and the photo session at five o clock in the morning.

I met Dr D Rama Naidu even before he could build his grand D Rama Naidu Studio and made one big film after another , specialy Hindi films . Like L V Prasad , he too carried a cane with him when walking with what he called. " The difficult stars of Bombay who are very nice till they take all the money and are like devils after taking the money ".

Naidu realised very late that the stars and technicians from Bombay were taking him for s ride when it came to money and that is when he decided to stop making Hindi films . His death due to cancer was a very big bolt to the Telugu , Hindi and the entire film industry because he made films in many Indian languages and had dreams of making many other films in other languages.

His legacy is being carried forward by his sons Suresh Babu , actor Venkatesh and his grandson Rana Dugavatti. His studio on Banjara Hill stand as a tribute to his great personality.

Dasari Naraina Roa was a very unusual director. He could direct seven or eight films on the same day with his assistants being in charge of each location , scene and shift. He was also a very good writer and talented actor.

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha and was even made Union Minister , but he died an untimely death and took away most of his ambitious dreams with him .

Tattameni Rama Rao was the director who started the new wave of Hindi films in the South. He made many films with Jeetendra , Dharmendra and Rajesh Khanna , but he had the unique record of directing the difficult Rekha in nine films.

I am still writing about him , when news comes from Chennai that he has passed away of age - related complications. Roa who I had met in Chennai two years ago had told me that he was disgusted with making films and had started a new business far away from Chennai and all the noise of film making.

And is there has been one director who has left a lasting impact on me , it has been the well dressed and immaculately disciplined K Vishwanath who even carried a mini temple with him wherever he went . He was the man who inspired an almost failed actor like Rakesh Roshan to take to directing films. Roshan followed his advice and look at where he is today and where his son Hrithik Roshan is .

YE TOH KUCH HI HEERE MOTI HAI , AGAR MAIN DHOONDNE NIKLA TOH NA JAANE AUR KITNE AUR KITNI KEEMTI HEERE MOTI MILL JAAYENGE MUJHE DAKSHIN KE DARIYA KEENAARE AUR AASMAAN PAR.